BREWER SHINES IN WKU DEBUT
by STEVE THOMPSON
It had been over a year since Alexis Brewer had competed at the Division I level. After an outstanding Freshman season at West Virginia, Brewer decided to transfer closer to home, and finish her college career as a Lady Topper. As a condition of being a red shirt junior, Alexis could not play last year to meet NCAA eligibility.
For many players, a year hiatus could be the dagger of their young playing careers, but not for Alexis Brewer, who came out firing in last night’s high profile match-up with the #3 Lady Cardinals of Louisville. Brewer, who admitted she was a little nervous, dug deep into her amazing family’s basketball DNA, and finished with 22 points against a great Lady Cardinal defense.
Although Louisville was the clearly dominate team, Four Lady Toppers scored in double figures and threw a monkey wrench into coach Jeff Waltz’s game plan. “They were aggressive defensively and Brewer is not afraid to play anyone at this level. She played against some of the best teams in the country at West Virginia and she is a special player”. Waltz, who won his 300th game with the victory, was impressed with the young Lady Toppers squad. “Once they get their offensive rhythm going, there going to be tough”.
Alexis Brewer’s father, James “Boo” Brewer told the Sporting Times he reassured his daughter that she didn’t need to be nervous in her WKU debut. “I told her I put a basketball in her hands when she was 3 years old, she makes great decisions on the court and she was going to be fine”, and she was.
It was an electric atmosphere at EA diddle Arena, as neither team disappointed their fan base. Louisville cruised to a 102-80 victory, with Asia Durr leading all scorers with 33 points. WKU takes on Oklahoma next, with the Lady Cards taking on Chattanooga on Friday.
Steve Thompson is a syndicated writer for the Sporting Times, the Sentinel and other blogs. He has been the voice of the Sporting Times radio show (5th Region version), created the Sports Fanatics and has done close to a thousand podcasts for TST and other high school sports related shows. Considered one of the leading authorities of 5th Region Sports for the past ten years and has been covering University of Louisville Sports for the past several years as well.
